Marlene Puffer, chief investment officer of the Alberta Investment Management Corp., believes many public market asset classes are under-priced as a result of inflation and interest rate hikes in 2022. “The persistent rise in inflation caught many central banks off guard, forcing them to undertake the most aggressive interest rate hiking cycle seen in decades,” […]
The median Canadian defined benefit pension plan returned 2.8 per cent during the last quarter of 2022 after facing losses of 12.8 per cent over the course of the year, according to a new report by Northern Trust Canada. The report draws from the Northern Trust Canada universe, which tracks the performance of Canadian DB plans. […]
The world’s 42 largest public sector pension investment organizations saw their combined assets decline by nine per cent in the year ending June 30, 2022, according to a new report by data platform Global SWF. “The last time we saw a decline was 2015 but that was a small drop,” says Diego Lopez, founder and […]
The average Canadian defined benefit pension plan lost ground on a solvency and accountancy basis in December, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly report. At the end of 2022, the solvency index reached 103.8 per cent, down 3.1 per cent from the end of November. The balance sheet index also fell 2.4 per cent — […]
A bill intended to provide defined benefit pension plan members with super-priority should be a major concern for Canadian DB plan sponsors, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly pension indices report. “While the goal of [Bill C-228] is to protect the pensions of members and retirees in the event of a company’s insolvency, it could […]
Despite concerns about global economic headwinds, the Bank of Canada’s successful efforts to curb inflation is capturing the attention of institutional investors, says Kathrin Forrest, a Toronto-based equity investment specialist at Capital Group Inc. “It’s surprised market participants,” says Forrest, referring to the central bank’s Oct. 26 decision to increase interest rates for the sixth […]
Canada’s defined benefit pension plans improved on both a solvency basis and an accounting basis in October, according to a new report by LifeWorks Inc. The monthly pension indices report found the average Canadian DB pension plan saw its solvency ratio rise to 103.2 per cent, up 3.1 per cent from the previous month. On […]
The value of a typical Canadian defined benefit pension plan’s assets declined in September, according to LifeWorks Inc.’s latest monthly report. An investment portfolio designed to mimic typical Canadian DB portfolios saw its assets shrink by 2.8 per cent over the month. The value of the benchmark portfolio, which is composed of 50 per cent […]
Why should defined benefit pension plans invest in Canadian equity markets at all? It’s a question many DB plan sponsors began asking themselves in the mid-1990s. At that time, the federal government removed foreign content limitations on pension plans and again, later, when it made similar changes for individual registered retirement savings plans. These regulatory […]
The second quarter of 2022 proved difficult for Bâtirente’s diversified funds, according to the organization’s investment strategy manager. “As was the case in the first quarter, Bâtirente’s diversified funds experienced a difficult second quarter performance . . . [with losses correlating with] their risk profile,” said Jean-François Dumais, in a press release. The five diversified […]